


Is It Real or Just Another Crush?

by HarliForever110



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, Maybe some other ships to come in later chapters, Mostly Harli, POV Third Person, US Women's Soccer National Team
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-30 21:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6441598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarliForever110/pseuds/HarliForever110
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hope has feelings for the new girl, Carli Lloyd, but will she be brave enough to act on them? And will Carli feel the same way? Or will Hope end up disappointed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Falling In Love

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this story is inspired by the song 'Crush' by David Archuleta. When I listened to this song one night, I really started to think about Hope and Carli, and to tell the truth, I got emotional. The song's lyrics just really got to me and I immediately decided to write a Harli fanfic with one of the lines from the song as the title. You may or may not see the correlation between the plot and the song, and that's fine. But I will say that it's there if you look hard enough. Also, this is only my second fanfic I've ever posted, so please feel free to let me know what you think and point out any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

      It all started on Monday. Or as Hope liked to call it, Monotonous Monday. Every Monday practice was just the same: warm-ups, workouts, drills, 5 v 5, and finally, penalty kicks. Hope could do the Monday routine in her sleep. She wasn't the only one who despised the boring beginning-of-the-week practices either.

     "God, I wish we could just skip Monday's practice and get to the good stuff for once," Hope's teammate and best friend Becky Sauerbrunn said as the team made their third lap around the pitch. Hope rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "I don't! I wish we had Monday practices every day of the week!"

     Becky looked up at Hope and glared. "Save it, Solo. I'm not in the mood for your sarcasm today." Hope held back a laugh. She loved to get on Becky's nerves, but she knew not to push her friend too far whenever she flashed her classic "stink eye".

     As they neared the home stretch, Becky turned to Hope, and with a devilish grin said, "Race you." With that, she took off towards their coach without looking back. Hope sighed and then put on her game face. She would NOT be beaten.

     With an extra burst of speed and a surprising surge of energy, Hope took off after Becky and soon caught up. As she passed her friend, Hope turned and ran backwards while facing her. "You know you can't beat me in a race, Becks, so why do you even try?!"

     Hope laughed when she saw Becky flash the "stink eye" for the second time that day. But suddenly, the look on her friend's face turned from anger to horror, and before Hope could ask what was wrong, she ran smack into...

     "Aw, shit," Hope exclaimed as she landed on the ground. Well, not **just** the ground. Also, a person. She had landed on a fucking person! Hope scrambled to pick herself up and then help up the woman she had barreled into.

     "Oh, God, I am so sorry! I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have been running backwards..." As Hope looked closely at the woman she was reaching for, her breath caught in her throat. This woman was gorgeous. 'Oh, damn,' she thought. 'Who is this?'

     As if reading her goalkeeper's thoughts, Jill walked over to Hope and the mystery woman and said, "You better not have injured our newest recruit, Solo."

     "Ummm, newest recruit? I didn't know we had another call-up." Hope knew she sounded very out of the loop, but she genuinely had no clue about a new call-up for the National Team. And besides, it was hard to think when she was still holding this mystery woman's hand... Speaking of which, why was she still holding this chick's hand!?

     Hope quickly pulled her hand back and painstakingly turned her attention to her coach. Jill gave her a questioning look, but just said, "This is Carli Lloyd. She'll be playing in the midfield." Hope looked back to Carli, who was standing passively a couple of feet away.

     Not wanting to be impolite (as she had been already), Hope moved towards Carli and stuck out her hand. "Hey, sorry about almost murdering you on your first day here... My name's Hope. Hope Solo." With that, Hope shook Carli's hand. The midfielder smiled and said, "It's okay. I'm used to getting knocked down a lot. Nothing a good ice bath can't cure!"

     Hope laughed, not knowing if Carli was joking or being serious. 'Does this chick actually enjoy ice baths? Weird,' she thought to herself. Jill then chimed in, this time making an announcement to the whole team, who by this time, had gathered around Hope, Carli, and their coach.

     "Guys, this is Carli Lloyd. She is our most recent call-up, and I'm very excited for you all to work with her and to get to know her. So, in honor of a new teammate, we'll end practice early and give everybody time to get ready for a team dinner. Now, off you go! Oh, and make sure to check the double doors to the gym to see who you will be rooming with before we head out tomorrow. We don't want any confusion when we get to the hotel!"

     As Jill finished her spiel, the team began to disperse. Carli reached down to pick up her gym bag and then looked at Hope. "Well, I guess I'll see you at dinner?"

     "Yeah, definitely!" Hope said as she watched Carli walk away from her. She couldn't believe that the first impression she had made on her new teammate was that she was a careless klutz that ran into people on a daily basis. But luckily, Carli didn't seem too concerned with having been knocked down. Hope decided then and there that she was going to like this Carli chick.

     Becky and Julie ran up to Hope and asked if she was ready to go. She nodded and leaned down to grab her bag, then followed her friends toward the locker room.

***

     Hope went straight to her room in the hotel that the team was currently staying in, disregarding her coach's suggestion to check out who her roommate would be at the new hotel. She figured that it would be a waste of time, considering she always roomed with either Becky or Julie.

     As Hope went to head into the bathroom to change and then fix her hair before dinner, she heard a knock on the door. Not expecting any visitors, Hope frowned, but went to the door anyways. When she opened it, she came face to face with none other than Carli.

     "Hey," Carli said sheepishly. Hope couldn't hide her surprise at seeing her new teammate, and Carli obviously noticed. "I can come back later... If you're busy or something." Hope shook her head and moved back from the door to let Carli into the room.

     "No, it's fine. I was just going to get ready for dinner." Carli sat down on the edge of one of the beds and looked at Hope.

     "Same here. Even though I didn't practice, I still feel gross just from the heat."

     "I feel you there. So, who are you going to be rooming with?" Hope asked, trying to make conversation.

     Carli chuckled and said, "You don't already know?"

     "Don't already know what? Who you're rooming with? I didn't actually check the paper..." Hope admitted sheepishly.

     "Oh, well, I'm actually rooming with you." Hope looked at Carli like she had just spoken a foreign language.

     "Um, what?" Hope said in confusion.

     "I'm... going... to... be... your... roommate," Carli said slowly, looking at Hope curiously. "We're going to be sharing a room, Hope."


	2. Eat Your Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing this chapter, I suddenly realized that I'm making this a little more comedic than I originally intended it to be, but I'm kind of liking it this way. Let me know what you think. Also, I just feel like Hope and Becky would be (and might be, who knows) really good friends, so I just had to put that in this story. I hope you enjoy their dynamic. And I decided that Hope is a giant fan of Taylor Swift... don't hate me for that. :)

     “Oh… okay.”

     “Okay? That’s your first reaction?” Carli jokingly asked. Hope shook her head to clear her suddenly foggy mind and feigned a smile.

     “Oh, sorry. I was just a little shocked. I usually room with Becky or Julie.” Carli got up from the bed and moved toward Hope. As she got closer, Hope could feel her breath catch in her throat once again, and fortunately, Carli stopped about a foot away from her. ‘If she gets any closer, I might actually pass out,’ Hope thought.

     “Well, I guess you’ll have to settle for me this time.” With that, Carli moved off into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Hope let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and rubbed her hands across her face. She could already tell that sharing a room with Carli Lloyd was probably going to be more than she would be able to handle.

***

     By the time Carli got done in the bathroom, Hope had just enough time to splash some water on her face, change into some sweats and a t-shirt, and redo her ponytail. As she exited the bathroom, Hope saw Carli take her hair down and begin to put it back up for what had to be the fifth time. ‘Geez, this girl is such a princess. She took forever in the bathroom and now this…’ Hope thought.

     “It looks great. Stop worrying.”

     Carli finished doing her hair and turned to Hope, smiling.

     “Thanks,” she said quietly. Hope smiled back and made a move towards the door. All of a sudden, she found that she could no longer move forward, and looked down to see Carli’s hand grasping hers.

     “Hey, I was wondering if… if I could hang with you at dinner. I mean, I didn’t really get to meet anyone else after…”

     “After I ran you down like an absolute klutz? Of course you can stay with me. I’ll even introduce you to my ‘squad’,” Hope said with a wink. Carli burst out laughing and let go of Hope’s hand.

     “You have a ‘squad’? Not that I doubt your popularity or anything, but… a ‘squad’, really?” Carli asked as she continued to chuckle. Hope just moved to the door and opened it.

     “After you, m’lady. Prepare yourself to meet the second-best squad on the planet!” Hope followed Carli out of the door and into the hall.

     “Second-best? Who’s squad is **the** best?” Hope leaned away from Carli and pretended to be in shock.

     “What?” Carli asked quickly, afraid that she had insulted the goalkeeper. Hope slowly shook her head and then squinted at Carli.

     “Obviously, the **best** squad is the one headed by my queen, Taylor Swift!” Carli rolled her eyes and raised her hands in defeat.

     “Obviously,” she muttered in a sarcastic tone as she moved past Hope. Hope frowned and followed Carli down the hall.

     “This is gonna have to change, Lloyd. You’re gonna be a Swiftie by the time I’m done with you.”

***

     “Carli, this is Becky and Julie,” Hope said as they arrived at the table her friends had claimed.

     “Hey,” Carli said shyly. Before she could pull her chair out, Hope reached over and pulled it out for her. “Oh, thanks Hope.” Hope smiled and then cleared her throat when she saw Becky scrutinizing her from across the table. Hope gave her a questioning look, but Becky dropped her gaze and started studying her chicken instead.

     “So, how do you like the National Team so far, Carli?” Julie asked, eager as ever to make a new friend.

     “Well, I really haven’t talked to anyone except Jill and you three. I’m just glad that I ended up getting Hope as my roommate.” Julie smiled and looked at Hope while still talking to Carli.

     “She’s going to be a really good roommate. Even though she stays up super late reading with the bedside light on…” Hope reached across the table and playfully smacked Julie’s arm. Julie laughed and went back to her food.

     “I’ll make sure to turn the light off if it bothers you, Carli. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on your beauty sleep.” Carli laughed and Hope smiled like an idiot for what had to be the hundredth time that day. ‘Why is her laugh so damn cute?’

     “Hey Hope, would you mind coming to get some more food with me?” Becky asked in an overly polite tone. Hope looked down at her nearly full plate and then back up at Becky, her brow furrowed in confusion.

     “Um, thanks for the offer Becks, but I haven’t even touched half the food on my---,” Hope was cut off when Becky gave her the “stink eye”. She ducked her head and stood up from the table.

     “Lead the way, Becks.”

***

     “What the fuck are you thinking, Solo!?” Becky exclaimed as soon as she and Hope arrived at the buffet. Hope jumped back in surprise.

     “Becky, calm down. What are you talking about?” Becky glared at Hope and then she grabbed her shoulders and shook her rather violently. Hope grimaced in pain.

     “Becky, stop!” Becky let go of Hope and sighed. The goalkeeper massaged her shoulders and winced when she felt her muscles tighten. “Becks, I think you just pulled my muscle. Thanks a lot!” Becky ignored Hope and went back to her plate, which she began to fill up with more chicken.

     “You need to eat your feelings, Solo. Or at least do something with them. I mean, it’s your own grave that you’re digging. Luckily, there’s plenty of food here, so you can take my advice... or ignore it. Your choice.” Hope stared, bewildered, at her friend.

     “Becky, I love you, you know I do, but what the fuck did any of that mean?” Hope watched as Becky picked green beans out of a pan one by one.

     “Just some Sauerbrunn wisdom, Hope. By the way, you **really** need to make your flirting less obvious.” Finally, Hope caught on to what the center back was hinting at.

     “Becky, I am not flirting with Carli! How could you even think that?” Hope exclaimed, keeping her voice low while trying her best to sound convincing and appalled at the same time. From the doubtful look that came across Becky’s face, she could tell that her teammate hadn’t believed a word she just said.

     “Sure, Hope. Sure.” And with that, Becky left Hope standing by the buffet while she returned to their table.

***

     “So, what did Becky want to talk about at dinner?” Carli asked Hope on their way back to Hope’s hotel room.

     “Oh, uh, nothing much. She just wanted to ask me if she could borrow one of my books. She needs something new to read.” Carli looked at Hope out of the side of her eye, and it seemed to Hope like the midfielder was not convinced by her explanation.

     “Did you like them though? Becky and Julie, I mean,” Hope said quickly, attempting to change the conversation. Carli’s face lit up with a smile and she nodded her head.

     “Yeah, they were really nice. Julie even told me some more secrets about **you**.” Hope stopped abruptly and stared at Carli.

     “What secrets?” Carli smirked and continued walking down the hall towards Hope’s door.

     “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she teased, looking back over her shoulder. Hope started walking again and joined Carli at her door. The two looked at each other for a moment, resting in a comfortable silence.

     Before Hope could think of anything to say, Carli moved in and kissed Hope on the cheek. Hope froze in place. ‘Okay, what the hell was that?’ Hope thought in disbelief. Carli stepped back and smiled at Hope, oblivious to the affect she had on the goalkeeper.

     “Night, Solo.”

    

     Somehow, Hope was able to form two words and get them out before Carli turned the corner at the end of the hall.

     “Night, Lloyd.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave a comment if you have any thoughts, questions, or suggestions. And, if you haven't already, please check out my other Harli fic, Given Half A Chance, if you have time or are interested in more Harli. I'm going to be making an effort to consistently upload on that fic until I'm done with it. Thanks! Oh, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


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